Merchants of Doubt
Merchants of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conwayby Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway
Shares rank 91 of 152 nonfiction books by recommenders
People recommend it as a clear, well-covered account of the subject, with one commenter calling what happened fairly clear.
People recommend it as a clear, well-covered account of the subject, with one commenter calling what happened fairly clear.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Clear account of what happened
“I strongly recommend Merchants of Doubt, it's fairly clear what happened”
Comment from 27 Jul 2026 in “Plasma Tunnels Reveal How Dying Satellites Fall to Earth” Covers the topic well
“covers this topic quite well”
Comment from 11 Oct 2026 in “Documents add to evidence in climate deception case against ExxonMobil” Called a great book on the subject
“There's a great book on the subject called "Merchants of Doubt"”
Comment from 6 Jun 2026 in “Mornings and nights no longer exist at 47C: A day in the hottest place in India”
Other nonfiction books people recommend
The four most recommended other nonfiction books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cuckoo's Eggby Cliff Stoll | 40 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Amusing Ourselves to Deathby Neil Postman | 36 | 0 | 100% | 9 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| The Anxious Generationby Jonathan Haidt | 24 | 12 | 67% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Bullshit Jobsby David Graeber | 20 | 12 | 63% | 8 | — | — |
| Merchants of Doubtby Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. ConwayThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“covers this topic quite well”
“I strongly recommend Merchants of Doubt, it's fairly clear what happened”
“There's a great book on the subject called "Merchants of Doubt"”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.